The Chicago Bears DO NOT need a big wide receiver.

When Roy Williams has the highest catch rate on your team you know your in big trouble.

I don’t want to hear about how great a receiver looks in the shower, I want someone who can play the position, and that means runs good routes, catches what he touches, and blocks downfield. Too many tall receivers fall short in one or more of these categories. A guy’s speed in the open field doesn’t mean squat if the ball is on the ground or worse, in a defenser’s hands headed in the other direction.

While size is great, route running, physicality, awareness and hands are better traits

are not exactly skyscrapers. Neither are the Packers’, but they don’t drop many passes. Some QBs just have a way of making receivers better. Jay needs receivers that make the QB better.

Rabble rabble!

“This is a List of Things That Are Pissing Me Off” club. Awesome.

This is something that has been bugging me for a while now,

And I may or may not be cosigning this article.

….. because we already have the smaller WR with one type of skill set . Also a bigger WR would give Jay a little more room for error on his throws & a larger target in general . But thats just my two cents .

I totally agree with you on that one… Getting a big, 6’4 WR isn’t a huge priority. Getting a guy who can get separation and hold onto freaking ball. Now that’s important.

Size can inherently improve the ability to get separation, but it’s not the only way.

While I will grant you that you don’t necessarily need a big wide receiver most successful team have a big target. Greenbay has Finnely, New York has Nicks, etc. We may already have said big target in Davis but….

(TWSS)
I agree that the Bears need a good WR, not a big WR. But watching the last two years of Bears offense made me realize that our current corps of receivers lack the ability to play through (or around) a physical corner. One of the reasons that a big receiver is appealing is the Bears’ need for recievers to block on running plays, but the bigger need is for them to be able to play through contact at the line. Also, Cutler’s history points to his preference for a “go up and get it” receiver that will fight for a ball (and win).
I hope that no one is arguing for a mediocre, but physically large receiver. But I admit that I am hoping for a BIG (in size and ability and production) receiver. However, since we all know “it’s not the size of the stick, it’s the magic in the wand,” I’d take any of your “small” receivers in a heartbeat – I just want some “magic!” I’m pretty sure that if you ask any female, the best combo would include both…

what they really mean is they want Calvin Johnson to play WR for the Chicago Bears. And I get that – I want that, too. But it ain’t happening. Les is right – we need a good receiver before we need a tall one.

Getting a good or great WR should be the Bears focus; don’t target a tall, big pass catcher just for kicks and giggles. If he happens to have larger dimensions (Vjax or Bowe) then that will be the icing on top. I love your usage of “poppycock.”

1a, 1b, 1c
now, a bigger, athletic target is easier to hit/can make plays in jump-ball situations
but u ever notice how, if Cutty’s in trouble, he looks Earl’s way 9/10 times?
we need a guy like that…on the other side

until we strike gold. Then we can be all like, told ya so!!!

Size wouldn’t matter to me. We need a playmaker, period. Earl Bennett is decent, but not as good as the true top 10 receivers in the NFL. If we can get Cutler a dependable target, then all is good.

And I want my gravy, I may not need gravy on everything, But I want it on everything… especially meatballs. And just like gravy, with a big WR; I might not need it, but I sure do want it and I remain convinced this dish would be best served with an extra side of gravy.

ala New Orleans, New England and the like. However, I fully agree that football smarts and ability to catch the big brown thing are more important than just size.

Who says someone’s a better receiver just because he’s taller? I don’t care if the dude is four feet tall, if he can catch what Cutty throws at him, that’s all that matters.

over just a tall guy…but for the love of god we need someone that can go up and get it

Ability to separate and ability to run correct routes all all important, but size gives you a couple of things the Bears have sorely missed the last few years.

1) The ability to throw fade routes and red zone jump balls is nonexistent for the Bears. Part of that is the fact that without a guy to beat the defense vertically in the physical sense, your throws have to be perfect if you want to throw an out or a fade.

2) Part of the art of passing is putting the ball where only your guy can get it. It’s a lot easier if your receiver has four or five inches on the DB covering him.

Yes, you’d rather have route running and hands over just size. But that hasn’t been an either/or choice in the NFL for years now, and pretending it is won’t make the Bears better.

a few minutes of down time at work today

What job allows you to uses their computers to type a whole article on a sports blog?lol

Get an offensive line, and the quarterback play will be better. Who the hell was Victor Cruz? Who was Deion Branch? Did anybody look at the Saints’ receiving corps and say “Wow, that guy is a stud.” when they were picked up? What about Jordy Nelson?

Don’t need to waste a high pick on a receiver (man, that Julio Jones sure was the difference between the Falcons getting waxed in the divisional round and… getting waxed in the wild card round while getting shut out); getting the best offensive line we can should be the priority.

4 of those guys have a top 5 qb throwing to them. (harvin and smith don’t, but look what smith did with a bump in talent from clausen to newton).

The reason I’m not interested in someone like Vincent Jackson or Marques colston is that they are catching passes from legit qb’s. Cutler is very good and I think those guys would do fine in Chicago, but I think a guy like Dwayne Bowe or Brandon Marshall would light it up in Chicago. They’ve proved they can perform while playing for crap qb’s and playing with a top 10 qb will elevate their game even higher.

should fit the team quite well. I would take these guys over Floyd…

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/post/_/id/37874/brandon-marshall-on-reuniting-with-cutler

“It’s hard to find that and sometimes it’s once in a lifetime,” Marshall said, "…when you take two guys and put them on the field together and they have that chemistry, that’s what’s almost impossible to find. I can’t explain it. That’s why I said it’s almost painful to think about.

“We’ll line up there and we’ll get a coverage and he will just look at me and I’ll know exactly where he wants to adjust my route. You don’t find that. It got to a point where coaches, they didn’t know what we were doing so we’ll install a whole play and they’ll give us a play on the front side and put me on the back side and they’ll tell us just do what you all do and just make it work. We had a lot of freedom in our offense, and we made it work and chemistry was great. It was something special.”

So, yeah. Finding someone he could do that with would be awesome.

We have smaller guys who are somewhat skilled but NONE of them put the fear in opposing CBs. The Hester experiment at WR has NOT worked and who knows if Johnny will ever be the same after having his spine destroyed so in my mind we should pick up a veteran WR and draft a WR. We need to start becoming physically imposing on offense like we are on defense. Jay knows how to work with big receivers, why not give him a talented one (or two) and see what happens? I say this should be a huge priority this off-season right next to CB and LT.

The Bears need a tall receiver at TE to say the least. The neglect of the TE position is obvious. Davis is not very good at blocking or receiving. And Speath is just not a very good receiver. I’m all for the Bears getting quality WRs over just tall ones, but getting the TE position right may go a very long way toward improving the WR corps in general. So if the Bears can find a quality TE, then you are correct in your provocative statement.

You get the exact opposite response. I’d be willing to bet that while the majority of the responses here have been in agreement, you could go to the other WR posts and see many of these same commentors responding differently.

And I disagree. Funny enough, if you look at the top receivers around the league, the majority of them are 6’0" tall and over. Is it the only reason they are good? Nope. But having great hands alone doesn’t make a receiver good either. It’s a tool, and one that is relatively important in this league.

Can receivers get by without height? Sure. Wes Welker is 5’9"….and he’s the exception, not the rule. There are a few others. Steve Smith is 5’9". But, if that’s normal, then why is Smith’s height so frequently part of the story? Or Welker’s?

Meanwhile, the leagues best receiving corps feature taller receivers. Sure, Greg Jennings is 5’11", but GBs leading receiver was 6’3" Jordy Nelson, not to mention that the Packers consider Finley a WR at the TE spot.

Marques Colston is 6’4". The Lions feature 6’5" Calvin Johnson. Cruz, Hicks and Manningham are all 6’0". Roddy White is 6’0" and Julio Jones is 6’2". Houston has Andre Johnson, Bryant Johnson and Kevin Walter, all 6’3" and Jacoby Jones who is 6’2. The Cards’ Larry Fitzgerald is 6’3". All four of the Colts leading receivers are 6’0".

I agree that being good is the most important factor. But I disagree that the Bears don’t need larger targets for Cutler. There are enough speedy 5’11" receivers in Chicago. It would be nice to have a 6’3" guy who can take the heat off of them and catch the tough balls in traffic.

people are crazy to think that the bears could not use a big play reciever. and would settle for another earl bennet. no what i would do is trade the 3rd round pick to miami get brandon marshall, use the 1st rd pick on another big receiver to develope along side of marshall and bennet. then you would have a core nucleus of cutler, forte,bennett, marshall, and the new wr.then i would feel comfortable going up against green bay, and new orleans.